Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am taking this matter on behalf of my ministerial colleague, Deputy Jim Daly. The overarching policy of the Government is to support older people to live in dignity and independence in their own homes and communities for as long as possible. This is clearly what older people want and only those in genuine need of residential care should go down that route. The standard of care delivered to residents in public units is generally high, but we recognise that many of our community hospitals are housed in buildings that are less than ideal in the modern context. Without them, though, many older people would not have access to the care that they need. It is important, therefore, that we upgrade our public bed stock and this is the aim of the five-year capital investment programme for community nursing units announced in 2016. This provides the framework to allow for an enhanced programme to replace, upgrade and refurbish these care facilities, as appropriate. Significant work was undertaken to determine the optimum scheduling of projects within the phased provision of funding to achieve compliance and registration with the Health information and Quality Authority, HIQA.

The HSE is responsible for the delivery of health and personal social services, including those at facilities such as St. Patrick's Hospital in Cashel and St. Brigid's Hospital in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. St. Patrick's Hospital, Cashel, and its associated facility at St. Anthony's unit in Clonmel, have an excellent reputation as care facilities. The hospital provides residential, rehabilitation and respite care to older adults in the south Tipperary area. The hospital is registered with the HIQA and the maximum number of persons that can be accommodated at the designated centre is 102 residents. Under the five-year investment programme, it is proposed to deliver a new community nursing unit at St. Patrick's to replace existing beds where the physical environment requires significant improvement. The challenges associated with the redevelopment of St Patrick's must be viewed in the context of the presence of a listed building on the site and its status as a working hospital. These challenges will be managed by the HSE as with other developments where such challenges present and the HSE now propose to progress this project via the traditional capital process and not through a PPP as originally planned. The project is currently at appraisal stage and is proceeding according to capital planning guidelines with construction projected to begin in 2020.

St. Brigid's Hospital provides convalescent, respite and palliative care and is registered with HIQA to accommodate 16 residents. In the latest inspection report published by the authority, the inspector found that residents healthcare and nursing needs were met to a good standard. The feedback received from residents was generally positive and indicated that they were satisfied with the staff and care provided. The Deputy will be aware that the hospital is not included in the five-year plan for refurbishment and upgrading. However, I confirm that the HSE has advised the Department today that there are no plans to close St Brigid's.

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